12 companies that are embracing remote work amid the RTO push
· Business Insider
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- Some companies are keeping remote work policies even as other firms call people back to the office.
- Companies like Atlassian, Dropbox, and Deel report increased job applicants and retention rates.
- Some firms also credit work flexibility with boosting employee satisfaction.
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As a number of big-name companies increase their requirements for how often workers spend time in the office, some firms are sticking with remote work arrangements.
Those leading the RTO charge have argued that face-to-face collaboration breeds a stronger culture of teamwork and creative problem-solving. However, remote companies say they are reaping their own set of distinct benefits.
The doubling down on flexibility has been a boon to recruiting at some companies, allowing firms like Dropbox and Crowstrike to tap into a wider pool of talent.
"A lot of the companies going back to the office are leaking talent to us, whether or not they want to admit it," Alex Bouaziz, cofounder and CEO of the HR and payroll platform Deel, previously told Business Insider.
Here are 12 companies that still offer remote work — and why:
AtlassianMike Cannon-Brooks is the cofounder and CEO of the Australian software company, Atlassian. He is in Sydney to speak at The Australian Financial Review Business Summit, February 19, 2020. (Photo by Renee Nowytarger/The Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images)Renee Nowytarger/The Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images
The software maker Atlassian has 13,000 employees in more than a dozen countries. Nine in 10 of its workers report that flexibility is both an important reason they stay and that it allows them to do their best work, Avani Prabhakar, the company's chief people officer, previously told Business Insider.
Since the company introduced its work-from-anywhere policy in 2020, it has seen the number of applicants per job opening double, Prabhakar said.
CoinbaseBrian Armstrong, cofounder and CEO of Coinbase, on October 23, 2019.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been remote-first since May 2020. L.J. Brock, chief people officer at Coinbase, told Business Insider via email that the company is not "remote-only," but instead has hubs all over the world and no central headquarters.
Teams also gather in-person once a quarter for what Coinbase calls "Surges," Brock said. Brock added that the firm is constantly iterating on its in-person meetings to make sure that the company's remote structure evolves.
The company has taken a remote-first approach for a couple of reasons, Brock said, including the fact that Coinbase operates in a decentralized industry and that remote work allows the company to tap into a global network of talent.
"We've unlocked a caliber of talent that simply cannot be reached without the flexibility of remote work," Brock wrote. "Our teams don't have to choose between their personal lifestyle and the opportunity to build the future of global finance."
CrowdStrikeCrowdStrike founder and CEO George Kurtz said he was "deeply sorry" for the disruption caused by his company.Bloomberg/Getty Images
Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike has a remote-first work culture. From its inception over a decade ago, the company has placed an emphasis on hiring talent from a diverse pool.
"Being a remote-first company ensures CrowdStrike can hire the best people — regardless of their geographic location," the company wrote in 2022.
The company added that its remote structure enables employees with family or caregiving obligations to contribute to its mission.
DeelAlex Bouaziz, cofounder and CEO of DeelVaughn Ridley/Sportsfile for Collision via Getty Images
Deel's Bouaziz said the most in-demand workers are often most willing to push back — or leave — when employers introduce rigid RTO policies. He said that the strict approach by some companies has benefited Deel.
Deel has a global workforce and hired more than 2,000 employees in 2024 — out of a pool of 1.5 million applicants, the company said.
DoorDashDoorDash CEO Tony XuMike Blake/Reuters
In 2022, DoorDash committed to a "flexible workplace model" and continues to offer that structure to employees. The policy allows teams to decide how and where they want to work.
"Rather than requiring employees to work in an office for a set number of days, we recognize that elements of both in-person and remote work will differ depending on how distributed each team is, and the nature of each team's work," the company wrote in a blog post on the subject.
A company spokesperson told Business Insider it also offers "meaningful in-person collaboration where it makes sense."
"We've found that trust and clarity around outcomes matter more than rigid location policies," the spokesperson said.
DropboxDrew Houston, cofounder and CEO of DropboxRodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
Dropbox implemented a "virtual-first" policy in 2021. The cloud storage company has redesigned its workforce to focus on flexibility, and this approach has paid off in both hiring and retention, Melanie Rosenwasser, the company's chief people officer, previously told Business Insider in an email.
The average number of applicants per job is nearly sevenfold higher than it was prior to the company adopting its virtual-first model, Rosenwasser said. She added that more than eight in 10 applicants accepted Dropbox's employment offers, and attrition is the lowest in the company's history.
HubSpotCourtesy of HubSpot
The software company says more than 70% of its employees work remotely. HubSpot requires its employees to work from the location where they were hired, but allows them to log on from elsewhere for up to 90 days.
Remote workers can visit an office twice a quarter. The company also offers a stipend each month to go toward expenses related to working remotely.
HubSpot also provides funds so that workers in a geographic area can meet up with their colleagues. There are also monthly virtual chats, where the company pairs someone with another employee elsewhere in the company to facilitate a sense of belonging.
MozillaAnthony Enzor-DeMeo is the CEO of Mozilla.Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Fast Company
Mozilla embraces a remote-first approach while offering in-person options.
"Employees have the flexibility to choose the type of workspace that best supports their productivity and wellbeing — whether that's a home office, a Mozilla office, or a co-working space," a spokesperson told Business Insider in an email.
The open-source software company has offices or coworking spaces in several locations, including San Francisco, New York, Berlin, Toronto, Paris, and London. For those who prefer an office setting but are based elsewhere, the company may cover the cost of a coworking space, Mozilla said.
"By accepting the imperfect reality of a hybrid environment, we enable ourselves to take full advantage of the opportunity of this moment," the company wrote in a 2022 blog post.
OlipopBen Goodwin
Olipop has been remote since its founding, but the prebiotic soda brand, which has roughly 220 staff members, hosts cohorts of new hires for off-sites throughout the year and also holds regular leadership and individual team off-sites.
In a previous interview with Business Insider, CEO Ben Goodwin said that instead of investing in office facilities, Olipop pays significant costs in employee benefits and perks. The company pays for employees to have a gold PPO plan and covers 95% of insurance costs, Goodwin said.
Olipop also offers department off-sites, a party at the end of the year with a DJ and a hotel stay, new hire orientations, and a program for leadership called Olipop Leadership University.
SpotifyDaniel EkKevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Since early 2021, when the music streaming service introduced a policy allowing employees to work from anywhere, Spotify has seen about half of its employees working remotely — from home or elsewhere — and the remainder going into an office.
Spotify states that roles are often associated with specific regions or time zones; most employees have the option to work from a country where the company has an established entity.
The annual attrition rate at Spotify has fallen to 3%, about half of what it was before it began the policy, according to the company. At the same time, the average time to hire workers has dropped to 37 days from 48, Spotify said.
ToptalLisbon , Portugal - 11 November 2025; Taso Du Val, CEO, Toptal, on Corporate Innovation Summit Stage during day one of Web Summit 2025 at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, Portugal.Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images
Toptal, a company with about 700 employees, has operated remotely since its inception. Taso Du Val, CEO of the talent sourcing company, previously told Business Insider that he thinks of the structure as hybrid, because teams meet typically for three-day off-sites once a quarter.
He said the ideal work structure is an "80/20 mix," which he describes as working remotely 80% of the time and meeting in person the other 20%.
ZapierZapier
For a week each year, the software company Zapier brings together its workers and customers to focus on various projects, Brandon Sammut, the company's chief people officer, previously told Business Insider.
By working with customers and problem-solving with teammates, he said, "you naturally build connection and belonging."
Some of Zapier's 800 workers, who are spread across 42 countries, also gather periodically to focus on a particular topic or challenge.
An earlier version of this story appeared on November 14, 2025.
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